Que Será Será
by I Chrys I
Summary: OC!Fic. Slightly AU. Sure, she says she can trust you, but the question is; can you trust her? Her name is a lie and where she claims to come from is also a lie. So where does this leave you? And why are you so infatuated with her? Hinted 2xOC, 3x4
1. Meeting of the Saint and the Death God

**Disclaimer- **_I do not own Gundam Wing or any of the characters from the series and will never claim to own them. However, the plot, Anita, Blain, and the little children all belong to me._

**A/N-** _Please don't flame me if you don't like the story. If the characters are OOC, that's something that's almost unavoidable as none of the Gundam Wing characters belong to me, and they never will. Basically, if you don't like what you're reading, stop reading it and hit the back button on your browser. I don't want to hear your fussing just because something isn't to your liking. Fuss to yourself, not me._

_Also, please note that the characters are kind of a lot a bit older than in the series. And please also take note that I honestly never really thought about where this story was taking place, so just think of it as where ever. Thanks and enjoy~_

* * *

"I'm heading out now." She said as she pulled a cloak around her shoulders. "I'll be back soon, I hope. Please don't open the door for anyone, okay?"

"Wait!" One of the younger boys called as he ran up to her. " Miss Anita, please let us come with you!"

"I'm going alone." She replied.

"But what if you don't come back!"

"I'll come back." There was a pause in which she looked away from him for just a fraction of a second. "I promise."

After finally getting the boy to let go, Anita headed for the front door. The moment she opened it, a hand reached out from behind her and shut it. She spun around on her heel to face one of the older boys and frowned at him.

"Blaine," She began, "Move your arm."

"At least let _me_ go with you." He said.

"No," Anita snapped. "And that's final. Now, _move_!"

They stared at each other for several minutes before Blaine gave in with a heavy sigh. He stepped back with folded arms and simply wished Anita well and asked her to come back safely. She smiled at him and waved before taking her leave. After spending an hour or so in town getting food, she decided it would be best to hurry and head back because it was getting late and the sun was setting. It would likely be dark by the time she got back, anyway.

Upon her arrival, she found the front door wide open. Her hand shot down to the gun on her hip and she cautiously made her way inside. There was no power tonight, much like any other night, and she was forced to find her way around in what little light the candles gave her. Her heart was pounding in her chest with every step she took and she could only hope that the children were safe in bed like they were supposed to be. And there, just barely lit by the light of the candles, stood an unfamiliar face that surely didn't belong here.

"Hands up where I can see them!" Anita demanded.

In what seemed like merely a second, she found herself pinned against the floor, her gun somewhere on the floor above her head. It had happened so fast that she hadn't even fully had the time to register what was going on. Of course, the moment she did, she screamed as loudly as she possibly could in hopes that the kids would hear her and know to get away. However, her scream was cut short by a hand being shoved against her mouth.

"Geez, lady." Her captor said suddenly. "You sure got a set of lungs on you. My ears are ringing."

Something about this guy joking around while pinning her to the floor really set Anita off. But, before she got a chance to do anything else, the room suddenly got brighter and Blaine was standing over the two of them, Anita's gun in one hand and a lantern in the other, with two of the younger children clinging to his legs.

"Get off of Miss Anita!" One of the kids shouted.

"Yeah, you big meanie!" The other piped in.

"I'm warning you," Blaine began, "I'm not afraid to shoot you!"

"Look, I didn't come here looking for trouble." The stranger said, raising his arms as he slowly got to his feet. "Your lady friend just suddenly came in and pointed a gun at me. What was I supposed to do? Let her shoot me?"

"Yeah!" The little ones shouted.

Suddenly, Anita found it completely impossible to keep a straight face and burst out laughing. Sure, she had just been pinned to the floor by a complete stranger who could have done God knows what to her if Blaine hadn't actually been awake, but something about two children saying the man should have let her shoot him was really funny. Two innocent and beautiful children who didn't quite seem to understand the meaning behind their words saying something so absurd was somehow so amusing to the young woman that she just couldn't help herself. And, as quickly as it had begun, this tense situation dissolved, but no one else seemed to understand what exactly was so funny in the first place.

"Oh, okay." She said suddenly, trying to take her breath. "I'm done now. Blaine, take this guy to one of the back rooms and lock the door behind you as you leave. Meghan, Nathan, you two follow me to get the groceries."

"Yes, ma'am!" The three rang in unison.

* * *

"I think now would be a good time for you to explain yourself." Anita said as she sat down across the table from the stranger they'd captured earlier. "Why are you here? Who sent you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." The man admitted with a shrug. "I thought this place was abandoned since there weren't any lights and decided I'd use it to get out of the cold of the night."

"Liar!" Anita snapped. "You don't just stumble around out in the middle of nowhere for no reason! You came here for some reason and I demand to know what that reason is!"

"Look, lady." The man said patiently. "I may run and I may hide, but I would never tell a lie."

"You actually expect me to believe that?" She scoffed.

"Yeah."

She had never seen someone with such an honest look on their face as this man had and, honestly, it unnerved her enough that she had to look away from him. What harm could come from trusting someone who seemed pretty honest? Well, actually, that was a pretty dumb question, but she completely caved in and decided to give the man a chance.

"What's your name, then?" She asked, finally working up the courage to look at him again.

"Duo Maxwell." He said with a cheeky grin. "Nice to meet you, Miss…?"

"Anita Forrester." She replied, attempting to smile a bit herself. "Nice to meet you, too"

"How old are you?" Duo asked, though it honestly seemed like a strange question to pop up right now.

"Twenty-four." She replied.

"Are you serious?" The brunet asked, seeming somewhat shocked by her response. "You sure as hell don't look it."

"Dead serious." She replied, frowning slightly. "And how old are you?"

"Twenty-one." He replied.

"Oh, that's surprising." She mused. "You don't look your age, either. I thought you were a kid."

The two went silent for a moment. If the conversation continued like this, they'd be at each others' throats before the night was up and there was no telling what they'd be saying by then. It would be better to just take a moment and let things cool down before continuing. It was Duo who eventually broke the silence.

"Those kids earlier," he began, "Are they yours?"

There was a moment in which Anita looked very troubled by his sudden question. She wasn't entirely sure how to answer it, though most people wouldn't find it that hard. But she'd also lived with them for several years, so she'd grown attached and simply saying "No, they aren't" was a lot harder than it normally would have been.

"K-Kind of." She answered quietly, looking away again. "Just a little. Maybe…"

"Kind of?" He questioned.

"Not really." She admitted. "Blaine and a few of the other kids are runaways, but the rest don't really have a home to return to. I'm not sure when it happened, but I suddenly became like a mother to them and they depended on me for everything. I don't have a job or money and I'm terrified having them hanging all over me like they do because I'm not very good support."

"Didn't you just come back with food?"

"About that…" Anita paused and shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Can we just say someone donated it to me without knowing it?"

"So you stole it?" Duo asked.

"I just told you that it was donated to me by some kind patron." She barked, rising to her feet once again. "Don't go twisting my words and making me sound like some kind of thief because I'm most definitely not a thief."

Duo seemed to find her getting so worked up over being called a thief pretty funny and started laughing. There was a knock at the door and the two of them went completely silent. When Blaine announced that he was the one standing there, Anita got up and let him in. He handed a tray of apples to her and stuck a knife in one of the apples before whispered the words " I'm sorry" and taking his leave. A chill ran down her spine suddenly, but she swallowed the little bit of fear that had begun to well up inside of her and set the tray down on the table.

She went for the apple with the knife in it first, but paused right as she began to peel it. Blaine's words were now ringing loudly in her head as she stared at the apples, the forbidden fruit. Surely it was a message to her, but she needed to figure it out before things went sour. Just as Duo reached for one of the apples, Anita slammed her knife in the one nearest to his hand. He pulled it back, alarmed by her actions.

"Hey-!"

"Go ahead and eat one if you want to die." She snapped, jumping to her feet. "Something's not right. I'm going to check on the kids. Don't move from this spot and, for the love of God, don't touch those apples."

"Why?"

"They're poisoned!"

With that said, Anita was out the door, her gun drawn and loaded in case she actually had to fire it off. This did nothing more than leave Duo sitting there and possibly more confused than he had been in a while. However, he wasn't just going to sit back and let her run off without any sort of back up. That would be a very stupid thing to do, so he got up after a few moments and followed after her.


	2. Read Between the Lines

**Disclaimer- **_I do not own Gundam Wing or any of the characters from the series and will never claim to own them. However, the plot, Anita, Blaine, and the little children all belong to me._

**A/N-** _Please don't flame me if you don't like the story. If the characters are OOC, that's something that's almost unavoidable as none of the Gundam Wing characters belong to me, and they never will. Basically, if you don't like what you're reading, stop reading it and hit the back button on your browser. I don't want to hear your fussing just because something isn't to your liking. Fuss to yourself, not me._

_Also, please note that the characters are kind of a lot a bit older than in the series. And please also take note that I honestly never really thought about where this story was taking place, so just think of it as where ever. Thanks and enjoy~_

_

* * *

_

By the time Duo had caught up to Anita, she was in a panic. The air was filled with thick and heavy smoke and the crackling of a fire could be heard somewhere beyond the corner. There was no running water and no other way to put out the fire. Even worse, the fire had started where the children were sleeping. Without even taking the time to think of her own safety, Anita tried to go into the blaze, but something caught her and pulled her back.

"Are you insane?" Duo snapped. "You'll be killed if you try to go in that!"

"But the kids!" She screamed, struggling to try and break free of his grip. "They're in there! I have to save them! They're too young to die! I can't just-!"

"Stop and think about what you're trying to do!" He demanded as he forced her to turn around and face him. "Do you hear screaming? If they were back there, wouldn't they be screaming because they were scared? Is there anywhere else that they would be?"

"My room." She said, choking back her tears. "Sometimes the younger ones go in there to sleep because they have bad dreams."

"Okay." He replied, pulling her along away from the fire that was slowly growing closer. "Where's your room? Lead me to it, _quickly_!"

She nodded slowly before heading off down the opposite end of the hall. She led Duo to a set of double doors at the end of the hall and threw them open only to reveal an empty room. It was at that moment that her heart sank and her legs gave out of her. Surely the kids had to be somewhere, but wouldn't they have come looking for her the moment the fire started? Or had they just been too far in their sleep that they ended up suffocating on the smoke before they even got a chance to wake up and cry out for help?

The very thought of that made Anita's stomach very upset and caused her to bring her hand up to her mouth in an attempt to keep down what little food she'd actually had that day down. This was like some awful nightmare that she couldn't wake up from and it almost seemed like it wasn't going to end. Things were just going to get worse and worse and there was nothing she could do. But clearly this was her fault because she hadn't paid enough attention to what was going on that day and she hadn't reacted soon enough. All the rational thoughts that were in her head just moments ago were now being swallowed whole by thoughts of allowing the fire to take her life, too, but there was someone there that wasn't just going to let her get away with that.

"Get up!" Duo said as he pulled the young woman to her feet. "We're about to get trapped down here. We need to get moving!"

"Leave me here, then!" She cried. "Let me burn with this building. It's the only thing I can do to make up for allowing those children to die. I was careless and I let my guard down just long enough to let this happen, so-!"

A loud explosion from the other end of the building made the ground rumble under their feet and they both ended up on the floor. Smoke came barreling down the hallway and the air grew thin. There was no time to go looking anywhere else. They had to get out of there now or else they'd be on the list of casualties, as well. Duo, being the only sensible person between the two of them at the moment, grabbed Anita and pulled her into the room before closing the two doors.

Smoke seeped in through the gaps, but there was a window on the other side of the room that they could escape from. There was no way he was going to be able to get her to agree to leave with him, so Duo threw Anita over his shoulder and charged at the window. His feet crunched under the broken glass as he made his way toward a truck parked a little ways off.

"Put me down!" Anita screeched. "I don't deserve this! Let me go back!"

"Like hell!" Duo snapped. "Maybe they got out. That Blaine guy, he could have gotten them all out of there before the fire got bad. "

"Then why didn't we see them!"

Duo provided no answer for her as he shoved her into the cab and locked the doors to keep her from getting out and getting herself killed. He wanted so badly to blame himself for everything that had just happened. If he hadn't showed up like he did then maybe things wouldn't have turned out this way, but that was a silly thought creeping up on him from his past and right now wasn't the time to be dwelling over such things. He focused all of his attention on the truck and, lucky for him, there were keys still in the ignition. Anita must have turned the truck off when she came back earlier and left the keys because she'd been more focused on what was going on inside. He quickly buckled up before the engine roared to life and he floored the gas pedal.

"Buckle up!" He demanded, glancing over at Anita for a split second. "And I'm sorry. You can hate me all you want, but I wasn't just going to let you kill yourself."

There was no response from the young woman other than loud sobbing. He wanted to try and find a way to calm her down, but there was nothing he could do at that minute. All he could do was keep driving and hope that she cried herself to sleep or just stopped crying on her own. Most of the drive was made in complete silence, aside from the engine of the truck and Anita's sobbing, but she'd calmed down a little while ago and was just sitting there running her fingers over the lock on the door. There were several times when she'd thought about trying to force the door open, but something was keeping her inside that cab and she wasn't entirely sure what that something was yet.

"We're almost out of gas." Duo said suddenly, eying the gas meter. "There's a gas station just up ahead, so we'll stop in there and refill the tank. If you're hungry, I can get you a bag of chips or something."

"Don't bother." Anita replied. "I'm not hungry."

And suddenly it was silent again as the truck rolled to a stop beside a gas pump. Duo pulled the keys from the ignition before looking at Anita one more time as he got out. If she was going to run, this was her chance and he wasn't going to stop her. He honestly wished she would stay put as he filled the tank and went inside to get something to eat and pay for the gas, but she could do what she wanted now. He was extremely surprised to find her still sitting there when he got back, but didn't let it show on his face as he got in and started the truck up again.

"I got something for you anyway." He said as he put his seatbelt on. "I don't really know what kind of food you like, so I bought a bag of plain potato chips for you if you want them."

He was actually quite relieved when she grabbed the bag of chips and began to eat a few of them. At least that was a start. Hopefully she'd cheer up just a little bit after she ate something. But that was just a silly wish of his and it wasn't likely to come true. It was just really stifling being in a vehicle with someone who was had just sunken down so low that they'd forgotten how to swim back up to the surface and catch some air.

"Where are you taking me?" She asked suddenly.

"I don't really know." He admitted. "I have a friend who's staying somewhere around here."

"I don't want to go around socializing with your friends." She deadpanned. "And, on that note, you don't even sound so sure of where he is. So why bother?"

"Hey, don't be that way." Duo replied. "I think he can help you. At least, just a little bit."

"How's he supposed to help me?" Anita questioned, pressing her face against the window. "I don't think there's anyone on the face of the Earth or in any of the colonies that can bring people back to life. So really, how the _hell_ is he supposed to help me?"

Duo opened his mouth to say something, but quickly shut it so that Anita didn't get another chance snap at him for trying to be helpful. At this point, he wasn't even sure why he was still trying to help her. Maybe it would be better to just pull off to the side of the road and just get out and go off on his own, but something was keeping him from doing that. He had a sneaking hunch that it was guilt over what had happened a few hours ago since this ungrateful woman was the only one he was actually able to make sure lived to see the light of tomorrow.

"Just go to sleep or something." He said after a long silence. "I'll wake you up when we get somewhere. _If_ we actually get somewhere."

"Who are you to boss me around!" She snapped.

"It was just a suggestion." He groaned. "Would you please stop yelling at me? You're not making this any better for either of us."

"Sorry, I just…" But her sentence was never finished, leaving Duo curious as to what she was going to say.

"You just what?" He asked. "You can talk to me, you know. I may not be one of the people you want to be driving around with, but at least I'm someone, right?"

"Yeah." She mumbled. "No. I just… don't know what I mean to say, really. I'm hurt and confused and I feel sick and I'm being eaten away at by so much guilt that I feel like I'm going to go mad. I'm sick of the people I grow even slightly attached to getting taken away or killed or _something_. Hell, I was married once, but I'm a widow at the age of twenty-four. That's not how life's supposed to go!"

"You were married?" Duo asked, and it almost seemed like that was the only thing he'd heard.

Anita decided it best not to answer him and give him any of the details. Quite honestly, that just kind of slipped from her mouth before she got a chance to think about what she was even saying. She'd practically said too much about herself already, so that was the stopping point. If she said anymore, she wouldn't feel safe with him anymore and would bale out at the next chance she was given. And she really didn't want to do that just yet because he was the steadiest thing in her life at that very moment and she really needed that.

"Where are you from?" She asked, quickly changing the topic in hopes of him following along with her.

"The L2 Colony Cluster." He replied, catching on to her need to change the topic. "What about you?"

"France."


	3. Caught in a Web of Lies

**Disclaimer- **_I do not own Gundam Wing or any of the characters from the series and will never claim to own them. However, the plot, Anita, Blaine, and the little children all belong to me._

**A/N-** _Please don't flame me if you don't like the story. If the characters are OOC, that's something that's almost unavoidable as none of the Gundam Wing characters belong to me, and they never will. Basically, if you don't like what you're reading, stop reading it and hit the back button on your browser. I don't want to hear your fussing just because something isn't to your liking. Fuss to yourself, not me._

_Also, please note that the characters are kind of a lot a bit older than in the series. And please also take note that I honestly never really thought about where this story was taking place, so just think of it as where ever. Thanks and enjoy~_

_

* * *

_

"So you're from France, huh?" Duo asked peering over at Anita from the corner of his eye. "What part?"

"Bordeaux." Anita replied. "Why the hell does it even matter?"

"Sorry." He winced. "I was just curious. You don't have to bite my head off."

"It sounded like you were doubting me." She replied, folding her arms and kicking her feet up on the dashboard.

"I'm not."

Silence filled the cab yet again, but this time it was because Anita was closing her eyes and finally trying to go to sleep. Of course, sleep sounded nice, but there was nowhere for Duo to pull over yet so he would have to keep driving until he came upon a rest stop or something. The road seemed to go on forever with no end in sight, but something about that seemed perfectly fine to him. Maybe then he could try and get Anita to at least smile, even if it was only for a brief moment. That would make this a trip across the country with no destination in sight, but that sounded like an interesting adventure.

However, it would be far more enjoyable if he could get his traveling companion to be less of a grouch. But after what had happened, it was no wonder she was the way she was. The thought crossed his mind to turn around and go find out if anyone else had made it out alive after the fire, but they were too far away now. Maybe it would be on the news. They liked covering the sad stories.

With that in mind, Duo turned on the radio and tried to find a news station every time he had to stop. Aside from a few random stations that were playing all sorts of music, he mostly got static and eventually gave up on his search. He could try again in the morning, but, for now, there was a rest stop in sight and it would do the two of them no good if he were driving around with no sleep.

* * *

Anita woke up to the sun blaring in her eyes and tried to roll over and go back to sleep. The seatbelt caught her in the neck and she ended up deciding it would be better to just sit up and try and wake up completely. Much to her surprise, when she sat up, a jacket flopped into her lap and she just stared at it, confused about where it had come from. But then she remembered Duo and realized it had been the jacket he had been wearing. However, the truck was parked and Duo was nowhere in sight.

She considered crawling into the driver's seat and taking off, but the keys were gone and she wasn't about to hotwire her own truck. So, she chose the second best option and got out to stretch her legs. Right as she got out of the truck, she spotted Duo off at a payphone chatting away like there was nothing better in the world. Now that it was bright out and she could actually see him clearly, she was thinking he was probably the type that was really popular with girls. It would be a very big shock if it turned out that he wasn't.

He looked up from the payphone for a second and waved at Anita before saying what she assumed was "goodbye" because hhe turned around and hung up the phone immediately afterward. She sat down on the side of the seat as he walked up with a goofy grin on his face. It wasn't hard to tell that he was about to share what he considered to be "good news". Or _something_.

"Your hair is red." He said, and suddenly Anita felt the need to punch him very hard in the face.

"Actually, it's red-brown." She corrected him. "However, I don't see what that has to do with anything."

"Sorry." He laughed. "I couldn't see it that well before because there wasn't much light, but now I can and I like it."

"That's…" She paused. "Nice. Thanks. Is that all you were going to tell me?"

"No," He replied, leaning against the side of the truck. "So I was just talking to that friend I'd mentioned and explained to him that I'd managed to get lost. I told him where I was and he gave me directions to the place he's staying in right now. It's not that far from here, so we can go there after I stop and get some gas again."

Anita really wanted to punch him now. She recalled telling him just last night that she really didn't want to go around socializing with his friends and here he was all happy about finally finding out where his friend was. And it was kind of cute. When she actually registered that last thought, she choked on air. She wasn't sure why the hell she was even thinking of stupid stuff like that, but it was there as plain as day and she wanted it to go away just as quickly as it had come.

"Are you okay?" Duo asked, placing his hand on her back.

She jumped and slipped off the car seat on onto the ground. She wasn't sure how she'd managed to do it, but she hit her head on the door and was now holding it tightly and moaning. It didn't help that Duo was laughing more than he was showing concern for the fact that she'd just fallen and hit her head, but then she realized just what was so funny about it and tried to choke back a laugh. However, it was too late and he had already seen the smile on her face before she had a chance to cover it up.

"There!" He said, reminding her somewhat of a puppy. "See! That's not so hard, is it? Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah." She replied as he helped her to her feet. "I just smacked my head against the door, but, other than that, I'm _fine_."

"So, how about we get some coffee and something to eat before we head out?"

That didn't sound at all like a bad idea, but that's when the thought that he was trying to get her to go somewhere she didn't want to go came back in full force. And suddenly she felt the need to refuse. Sure, her stomach was growling and she was thirsty, but she'd be conned into going to some stranger's house, or whatever, after this and that was exactly what she didn't want. So, she declined, causing all the tension between the two of them to come right back and suddenly it wasn't all "happy fun times" anymore. Not that it should have been in the first place, but who could judge someone based on a momentary slip of mindset?

Duo sighed and got inside the cab before looking at Anita and telling her to get in, as well. Not wanting him to take off with her truck, she obliged to his wishes and got in. And, just like that, they were off again, but Anita wasn't going to get her way no matter how many times she tried to argue her point. Duo was dead set on having her meet his friend and he seemed so sure that this guy could actually help her that he wasn't going to listen to her at all. So the only stop that was going to be made was one at the gas station to fill up the gas tank and to get something to eat and drink for the trip before they made their way off to what the redhead assumed was some place in the middle of nowhere, much like her make-shift home had been. However, this place was likely to be a little nicer considering someone actually paid for the electricity and water and all that good stuff.

"I asked around if anyone had heard about the fire." Duo said suddenly, making Anita become very tense. "Just thought I'd mention that."

"Don't just trail off like that!" She snapped. "What did they have to say?"

"Someone told me that they'd heard people from the town near there had gone in after the blaze died out." He began, seeming slightly annoyed that this was the only thing she wanted to talk about. "They knew you guys were living there and were worried that you'd all been caught in it, so they went searching for bodies. From what I was told, they didn't find any bodies. Other than that, I don't really know much."

At that very moment, it felt like a great weight had been lifted off of Anita's shoulders and she sighed in relief. Duo felt a great relief because the tightly wound knot that Anita had been caught in was now loosening up just enough for her to be able to relax. However, there was no telling for how much longer because he already knew she wasn't going to stop worrying about whether they were injured or not.

* * *

The rest of the trip was spent in silence because Anita had decided to take a nap, using Duo's jacket to keep the sun out of her face. Honestly, she'd wanted to comment about how it smelled funny, but it was doing the job she'd intended it to do, so she wasn't going to complain. However, she could complain about being woken up right as she was getting into a nice, deep sleep. She didn't want to be here, but it wasn't up for her to decide that and she found herself being dragged inside some fancy looking building and off to some room with big double doors that were kind of intimidating to look at.

"Duo, really!" She argued, trying to pull her arm back. "I already told that I don't want to go around meeting your friends."

"Quatre Raberba Winner!" He shouted as he threw open one of the doors, leaving Anita to feel as if her words went completely unheard. "And Trowa, too, apparently. Long time no see!"

"Please knock before you come barging into the room like that." The platinum blonde seated at the desk said, his face lighting up in a rosy color, his brown-haired companion calmly browsing a bookshelf beside the desk as if nothing had happened.

"Duo!" Anita hissed, hiding behind her kind-of companion.

"Who's that?" Quatre asked, trying to get a look at the redhead, but finding it rather difficult as she was doing her best to keep herself hidden.

"Someone I want you to meet, but she's acting really shy." He replied, turning around to face Anita and place his hands on her shoulders.

"I don't want to meet your friends." She said in a hushed tone. "Can we please just go? I don't want to be here."

"Please just take the time to introduce yourself." He replied in an equally hushed tone. "If you still don't want to stay here after that, we'll leave. I promise."

"_Fine_."

And all it took was that one word for Duo to spin her around to face Quatre and Trowa. However, her face suddenly paled significantly when she locked eyes with the blonde man behind the desk. His name had sounded vaguely familiar, but it was matching it up to a face that really made her feel just a little bit nervous.

"Cassarah Noble!" Quatre beamed.

"H-Hi." She squeaked. "I-It's nice to… see you again. Huh. Small world, isn't it? It's, uh. It's-It's Cassarah Arkwright now, though."

Duo suddenly felt like he was missing a few pieces to this puzzle. However, before anyone had any time to question the situation, Anita decided she was going to make a nice fast trip to the floor. Luckily for her, Duo's reflexes were fast enough that he actually caught her before she smacked her head against the marble below. But now there were many he felt the need to ask when she finally came to.


	4. Chamomile: The Calming Tea

**Disclaimer- **_I do not own Gundam Wing or any of the characters from the series and will never claim to own them. However, the plot, Anita (Cassarah), Blaine, and the little children all belong to me._

**A/N-** _Please don't flame me if you don't like the story. If the characters are OOC, that's something that's almost unavoidable as none of the Gundam Wing characters belong to me, and they never will. Basically, if you don't like what you're reading, stop reading it and hit the back button on your browser. I don't want to hear your fussing just because something isn't to your liking. Fuss to yourself, not me._

_Also, please note that the characters are kind of a lot a bit older than in the series. And now you know what the description for the story means. Thanks and enjoy~_

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She didn't remember when exactly it was that she had ended up in such a comfortable bed, but she really didn't care at that very moment. She'd gone from sleeping on a pile of blankets to sleeping in a truck, so this was a blessing and she didn't want to ruin it just yet. However, something pulled the redhead from her happy musings and she began to wish she could just go back to them and never have to stop thinking about them.

"So your name isn't Anita?" Duo asked, a frown spreading across his lips. "Does that mean you aren't from France, either?"

"Shut up, please!" She begged as she threw a pillow over her head to try and block him out. "I don't want to hear this."

"No." He protested. "Why did you lie to me?"

"That's not really any of your concern." She replied. "Please drop the subject and go away now."

"Why?" He asked again.

And suddenly she poked her head out from the pillow to peer up at him, but the look on his face made her heart ache just a bit. Maybe she should have told him from the beginning, but she really didn't want to get other people involved in her troubles and, by explaining everything, he would be caught right in the middle of something he had no business being caught in the middle of. Or, at least, that's what she was thinking, but he obviously felt like he was allowed to know at least a little bit about what was going on. And maybe he did, but she wasn't going to tell him.

"Go away please." She said weakly as she hid her face under the pillow again. "I'm sorry, but this has nothing to do with you and that's how it's going to stay, so please leave me alone."

Completely fed up and upset over the fact that she was not telling him anything, Duo got up and left the room. However, his presence was replaced with a slightly more unpleasant one as Quatre decided to bring in a tray of tea. A myriad of thoughts were now running through her head and she wished she could shut them all up, but that would require her passing out again or something. So now she was stuck here with this blonde-haired man whom she didn't want anything to do with at the moment.

However, something deep down in the farthest reaches of her mind was telling her she was being completely stupid and that she should just go ahead and give in and be civil. But that was buried amongst the thousands of other thoughts that told her to do the exact opposite. And now the blonde man was seated in the very spot Duo had just been in. To her, it seemed like he thought a cup of tea was going to make everything all calm and nice again.

"Why?" The redhead suddenly inquired.

"What?" Quatre replied, seeming caught off guard by her sudden question.

"Just everything." She said as she forced herself into a seated position. "Of all the people who he happened to know, you were one of them. Life likes doing some really awful stuff to me."

"I wouldn't put it that way." He replied as he handed her a cup of tea. "That's just what you're making it out to be."

"Except, now, we're digging up a past that I don't want anything to do with anymore." She sighed and took a sip of the tea.

"So you did end up marrying him?" He asked, refusing to let her drop the subject.

"I'm sure you know how that turned out." She answered. "That's why I stopped going by that name. And now here I am running away from more things I should be facing head on, but I'm too much of a coward. I think that's just my way of coping."

"Well, you're talking." Quatre said with a smile. "That's a start."

"I suppose." She sighed. "Don't you go telling my family about me or anything. They think I'm dead and buried in the ground. That's how it should be."

"I think they would be happy to know that their daughter was alive." He replied. "But something tells me that you aren't."

"I'm not." She mumbled. "But the moment everyone finds out that I am, things get even more complicated and suddenly I have to fear for their safety again. That's why I decided it would be better to drop off the face of humanity."

"There are people that can help keep them safe, you know."

His words were true to an extent, but there was a point at which those people couldn't help anymore. Obviously her choice in men had been very bad considering this was the life she ended up leading after she got married. And she'd only been married for a couple of months before becoming a widow. Of course, she ended up finding something to make her life all bright and happy again, but she found that life was going to beat her down again and take that away. So, here she was, sipping tea with a man she'd met very briefly many years ago.

"Something tells me God intended for this to happen." The redhead mused. "Or else I wouldn't be sitting here right now thinking about how much of a bitch I was just being to him. I feel kind of bad, but I'm worried. I don't want to latch onto him and use him as a support beam to keep me going like I was trying to do because then he's going to end up in a very bad position and there's not going to be anything I can do to drag him out of it."

"He's stronger than you're giving him credit for, Cassarah." Quatre replied. "He's been through a lot himself, but I'm sure he can manage just fine if you allow him to."

"Hey, what kind of tea is this?" She asked suddenly. "I like it."

There was a brief moment in which Quatre didn't respond because he realized what she was trying to do. He almost tried to get her back on topic, but realized that's really not what he should try doing right now while she was all worked up. So, he decided it would be best to follow along on her derailed conversation.

"It's Chamomile." He replied. "It's supposed to help you relax and I thought that it was just what you needed."

"Maybe it is." She sighed. "Why do you make it feel like we've known each other for years? I don't like this, you know."

"Would you feel better if I left you with the teapot and took my leave?" He asked.

"No." She huffed. "I don't know. I really don't. My head is a jumble. One moment I thought everything was going well for me and then Blaine suddenly apologizes and 'boom'. My house blows up.'

"Then suddenly I find myself traveling in the dead of night with this guy I just met and I can't bring myself to tell him my real name or where I'm really from, even after he's kind enough to save my life. All because I was pissed that he actually saved my life, but then I found out that it would have been stupid of me to die because the kids weren't there. But where are they! I don't know and he doesn't know and it's killing me sitting here drinking tea knowing full well that Blaine is rash and ignorant and he's going to get them killed if nobody does anything."

"S-Slow down!" Quatre gasped. "I don't understand what you're saying."

"Before I met Duo." She said, her voice cracking slightly. "That night I went out to get food because we were running low. When I got back, the door was wide open and he was in there, but I didn't know at the time. I was afraid for the kids, so I was ready to shoot whoever was there, but he was the one that was there and not some big bad guy like I thought. And suddenly I was on the floor and my head was spinning and Blaine had my gun.'

"And then we were in one of the other rooms talking. Duo and I, I mean. And Blaine came by with some apples telling me he was sorry, but I didn't understand until I thought about it. The apples were like some sort of metaphor, but it was completely out of context and he was leaving me to figure out what he was trying to tell me. But it took me too long to figure it out and, by the time I did, the place was on fire and I couldn't find the kids. And now I'm here, but I don't know what the hell I'm even doing!"

"Cassarah!" Quatre raised his voiced slightly in an attempt to get her attention. "Calm down. You're alright."

"Sorry." She replied, taking a deep breath to try her calm her nerves a bit. "I want to go back, but it's so far away now that I don't even know if I could make it back. That's not my home anymore and those aren't my kids to look after."

"Just calm down and drink the tea, please."

"Right. The tea."

The room fell silent immediately after that, but at least something had been accomplished. She'd shared her troubles with someone she knew she could trust and that was enough for now. She could figure out the rest later, but for now she was feeling just a little bit sleepy and it was hard to ignore the fuzzy feeling her head was giving her right. So for now she would finish her cup of tea and take a nap.

"Sorry, Cassarah." Quatre said as he stood up. "You go ahead and sleep for now and we can all sit down and figure everything out later."

And, with that said, he took her cup and the tray and left the room. He was slightly startled to see Duo standing outside the door, but it was understandable that he would be there. It had been Duo who had been with Cassarah throughout most of this ordeal and he deserved to know something, even if it meant him eavesdropping just to figure it all out.

"How much did you hear?" The blonde man asked.

"More than I probably should have." Duo replied. "Did you put something in her tea? I don't think Chamomile is strong enough to knock you out like that."

"She wouldn't have calmed down any other way." Quatre replied. "I do feel bad for doing it, but I really don't think I had much of a choice. Her nerves are shot and she's going to push herself over the edge if we just sit back and let her. For now she can sleep peacefully without a care in the world, but something will have to be arranged to keep her calm when she wakes up in the morning."

"Y-Yeah."


	5. Like a Deer Caught in Headlights

**Disclaimer- **_I do not own Gundam Wing or any of the characters from the series and will never claim to own them. However, the plot, Anita (Cassarah), Blaine, and the little children all belong to me._

**A/N-** _Please don't flame me if you don't like the story. If the characters are OOC, that's something that's almost unavoidable as none of the Gundam Wing characters belong to me, and they never will. Basically, if you don't like what you're reading, stop reading it and hit the back button on your browser. I don't want to hear your fussing just because something isn't to your liking. Fuss to yourself, not me._

_The reason why our lovely Mary S- I mean _heroine _went almost an entire chapter without a name being mentioned last chapter was because she was having an identity crisis. 'Nough said. Thanks and enjoy~_

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After spending what felt like forever asleep, Cassarah (formerly known as Anita) was greeted with the bright morning light, much to her displeasure. She would have loved to sleep in that bed forever if it were possible, but it wasn't and now she was dealing with a very chipper blonde who appeared to be a morning person. Or maybe he just drank too much coffee. Whatever the reason, he was the cause for her waking up because he was drawing back the curtains and opening the blinds in the room he'd so kindly provided for her.

"Good morning, Cassarah." Quatre said, turning around to face her. "I hope that you slept well."

"Mnngh…" She mumbled as she rolled over and pulled the covers over her head. "Why so early?"

"Don't you think you've slept enough?" He replied. "Would a cup of coffee be enough to get you to wake up?"

"Don't want any." She said with a yawn before sitting up, realizing he was going to keep talking to her until she was wide-eyed and awake. "M'hungry, though."

"What would you like to eat, then?"

Cassarah didn't answer immediately. She wasn't entirely sure what she wanted to eat and she really had to think about it. She could ask for a traditional breakfast with eggs and pancakes, but pancakes didn't really sound all that appetizing right at that very moment. Toast sounded pretty good, though, but bread was a filler and she really needed to eat something that wasn't going to make her full before she actually got enough to eat. Suddenly the thought of eating real food made her decision extremely complicated and she ruffled her own hair in frustration with a groan.

"I don't know." She huffed. "Apples. Eggs. I don't know. No toast. Surprise me?"

And it was just that that he did, but not with the food he chose. No, he got her some scrambled eggs and an apple, but he didn't exactly let her leave the room. So, really, it became breakfast in bed with a nice cup of freshly brewed tea. It was like being some kind of princess and Cassarah certainly wasn't princess material, so this was really awkward and embarrassing for her.

"Why in bed?" She asked, staring down at the tray on her lap.

"You seemed quite content with hulling yourself up in this room," Quatre explained. "I thought it would be better if I just brought the food to you instead of asking you to come to it."

She felt the need to argue against his point, but there wasn't an argument that she could come up with that would actually make sense. So she turned her attention to the food in her lap and decided it best to take her aggression out on that. However, there's not much you can do to a bunch of scrambled eggs that hasn't already been done and it wasn't a good idea to act like a fool with a knife while peeling an apple.

"This isn't fair." She said suddenly, placing the apple and knife back down on the tray and looking up at Quatre.

"Hm?" He asked, not quite sure what she meant.

"For me to be sitting here," She began. "You know, eating like this in such a place. Because those kids probably aren't this lucky and I know it. So why do I get special treatment?"

"Don't think like that." He said, but it almost sounded like he was trying to be more authoritative. "You give people far less credit than they deserve. While I'm not entirely sure whom you're talking about, I do know that you mentioned someone else was with them and, from the way you spoke about him, he was old enough to take care of himself. Do you really have so little faith in him that you don't think he can handle taking care of other people, as well?"

"But he doesn't think things through clearly!" She protested.

"Not to be rude, but you don't seem to do that, either, so where's the difference?" The blonde man asked.

Cassarah didn't respond. There was no way for her to respond, because he was right. There was no difference, so her argument was invalid. Frustrated, she picked the apple back up and began to peel it again before cutting it up. Maybe Quatre was right.

Maybe Blaine deserved more credit than she was giving him. Maybe he was actually doing a better job at taking care of the kids than she had. But that thought made her smile a little bit. For a young man who was still growing himself to take care of a bunch of screaming children better than a woman, that would be a sight to see. That would be just great, but there was no telling now because she was hours away from her old "home".

"No, you're right." She said.

Her comment seemed to be just enough to please Quatre because he backed off. The whole point was to try and get her to stop being so down and depressive because it was bringing down the mood of everyone and that was no good. If they could get her to be just a little more optimistic that would be just great.

"If you're done, you can take a shower and get into a change of clothes." He said with a smile. "You aren't much smaller than I am, so I think we can fit you into some of mine with the aid of a belt."

"Y-Yeah." She replied. "Thanks. That sounds nice."

* * *

"The hell…?" Cassarah grumbled as she tried to fasten the belt Quatre had given her. "How's this even supposed to work?"

It was one of those belts with holes going all the way around it and a buckle that had a notch on the end of it, but how it was supposed to even fasten was lost on the redhead and she fiddled with it. Of course, every second she spent trying to figure it out, she grew more and more annoyed until she was at the point where she was just going to give up and ask for help. The thought of it was very embarrassing, but it didn't seem like she was going to get anywhere without bothering. So, after gathering up the courage to actually do so, she poked her head out the door and motioned for Quatre to come into the room.

"What?" He asked.

"Just come here, please." She begged. "_Quickly_."

The looks she was getting from everyone else in the room made her feel even more embarrassed, so she quickly ducked back into the room and waiting for Quatre to come. Of course, explaining to him that she couldn't figure out how to work the belt he gave her would make her look like an idiot, but at least she'd be doing it behind closed doors. This day was turning out to be very strange.

"What's wrong?" The blonde man asked.

"This belt." Cassarah groaned. "How do you even fasten it? Why would you give me a belt that I don't understand?"

"Oh, uh, here." He said as he took the ends of the belt away from her. "It's not that hard. This piece just pops into one of the holes like this."

As he explained how the belt worked, he pulled it tight around her waist and fastened it for her. Much to her surprise, it was actually a lot easier to figure out than she'd been making it out to be. However, that didn't change the fact that he should have just given her a regular belt to begin with rather than a fancy looking one that would likely cause problems.

"Th-Thanks." She mumbled.

"It's fine." He replied. "Would you like me to get you a hair brush, as well?"

"Y-Yeah." She replied as she ran her hand through the wet tangles in her hair. "That would be nice. I could use something to tie it back with, too, if you don't mind."

Quatre was off then and came back with a hairbrush and hair tie so she could pull her hair back. She thanked him and he left the room to give her some space. She stood in front of a floor length mirror and felt the urge to mock herself for looking so plain, especially since she was currently staying in the house of a very not plain looking guy and his very pretty friends were also here, though one of them happened to be her friend as well. And somehow his hair was longer and prettier than her own. Then again, she didn't get the chance to wash her hair as often as she should have because she'd been living without running water for several months.

Her showers then had just been when she'd stand out in the pouring rain, or when she managed to con someone into letting her and the kids use their bathroom. Thinking back on it, that wasn't a good way to be raising kids and she should have tried to actually get a job, but without any legal documents of any kind, it would have been impossible. If she ever went back to the life, she hoped she would at least try to do something differently. Living like that was no good. She was lucky she'd never been caught stealing food or else she would have ended up in jail.

She sighed and tried to push those thoughts to the back of her mind as she brushed her hair back out of her face. Nothing special about her face, really. Her skin was pale and she had dark circles under her eyes from losing sleep too many nights in a row. She leaned forward as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail before pulling down on her bottom eyelid. Her eyes were kind of pretty if you liked pale green eyes.

She was surprised at how poorly she'd managed her own body up till now. She was too young to be having any kind of wrinkles and yet there were a few here and there, but they were mostly under her eyes. It wouldn't hurt to go outside in the sun a little more just so she didn't look like a ghost. And she was so wrapped up in inspecting every inch of her face and body that she didn't hear the door to the room open and she had absolutely no idea that Duo was standing there watching her like she was some kind of circus act. Though, from someone else's point of view, it was actually kind of amusing watching a girl look at herself in a mirror the way Cassarah had been.

"Hey." He said, not sure if she'd hear him or not.

Luckily for him, she did. Unluckily for him, he surprised her enough that she yelped and nearly jumped out of her own skin. The normal response at that point would be to say "hello" back, but Cassarah didn't. She just stood there and stared like a deer caught in headlights for a few seconds before looking down at her feet and fiddling with the hem on the sweater Quatre had lent her.

"You know," he began, "usually this is the point when you say 'hey' back. Just in case you forgot."

"I didn't forget." She mumbled.


	6. A Four Letter Word

**Disclaimer- **_I do not own Gundam Wing or any of the characters from the series and will never claim to own them. However, the plot, Anita (Cassarah), Blaine, and the little children all belong to me._

**A/N-** _Please don't flame me if you don't like the story. If the characters are OOC, that's something that's almost unavoidable as none of the Gundam Wing characters belong to me, and they never will. Basically, if you don't like what you're reading, stop reading it and hit the back button on your browser. I don't want to hear your fussing just because something isn't to your liking. Fuss to yourself, not me._

_Just trying to clear something up. Duo has not lied once since I started writing this fanfiction. 'Nough said. Thanks and enjoy~_

_

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"Come here." Cassarah said suddenly.

"What?"

Though, in all honesty, he was more confused by the fact that she'd suddenly held her arms out and was now wiggling her fingers like she wanted him to come over and grab her hands. Not that there was anything wrong that or anything. It was just an extremely weird motion for her to make based on everything she's said and done on previous occasions. If she was going to trick him or something, this certainly wasn't the way to do it.

"Just come here for a minute." She said, frowning at him. "Please?"

That expression she was making was one he was sure he hadn't seen before and he wasn't sure what to make of it. It was kind of cute and just a little bit hard to ignore. After a moment of hesitation, he slowly walked across the room to stand in front of her. If this some kind of prank she was trying to pull on him, he wasn't going to be happy.

"What?" He asked again as she grabbed at his hands and stared at them. "What do y-? What?"

"Look," she began, looking up at the mirror. "Face the mirror."

"Why?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Just do it!" She pressed, yanking her hands back and turning to completely face the mirror.

Still considerably confused by the redhead's strange request, Duo turned to face the mirror as well. Standing next to her like he was made her seem so small and the clothing Quatre had lent her only made her seem just a little bit smaller. A white sweater with light blue vertical stripes, a blue under shirt, and a pair of jeans. He vaguely recalled the blonde man wearing it some odd number of years ago and it wouldn't be much of a surprise if he could still wear it considering he'd only grown an inch, _maybe_ two. But, even if they were very close in height, Cassarah was still shorter and had a smaller frame.

The sweater was just a bit too large for her, the cuffs on the ends of the sleeves brushing against the middle knuckles on her hands. He couldn't say it looked _bad _on her because it really didn't. Especially with her hair pulled back the way it was. She looked quite nice with her hair out of her face.

"Why are you staring at?" Cassarah asked as another frown spread across her lips.

"Sorry." He said, laughing a bit. "I was just thinking, don't we look good together?"

Though he only meant it as a joke, and Cassarah was very aware of that fact, she still proceeded to elbow him really hard in the ribs. Of course, her reason for doing so was rather stupid, but she needed him to be distracted long enough so that she could regain her composure and stop looking like so teenager going through puppy love. Duo was a friend and nothing more. No matter how much her mind wanted to start wandering off on thoughts that stated otherwise, she was going to stick to them just being friends. No sense in falling in love again when you still have gotten over your late husband yet.

"Why'd you go an do that?" He asked, grabbing his side. "I was just joking around with you."

"You shouldn't say stupid things like that before thinking about them." She replied. "I didn't ask you to stand there so you could spout nonsense. I was just trying to see if it was realty true."

"See if what was really true?" He asked, though he felt slightly nervous of her response.

"You…." She paused and started playing with the hem of her sweater again. "And Quatre, too. You guys are both men, so it's okay if you look good. But then it's just weird if you're standing next to a woman and you're…. Mn."

"You're…?" He questioned.

"You're too pretty!" She snapped shoved him in the arm. "Guys shouldn't be as pretty as you two and yet you are and I know I sound like I'm being really vain, but it's really eats away at your confidence when you realize that you're _not_ prettier than a couple of guys."

There was a long pause in which Cassarah went back to fiddling with the hem on her sweater and Duo just stood there. Suddenly a goofy grin made it's way on his face and he cracked up. Sure, it might have been better to try and hold it in till later when she wasn't around, but it was just so funny hearing her say that and he honestly couldn't help himself.

"Don't laugh at me!" She barked. "It's not funny!"

"Sorry!" He laughed, bringing his hand up to his mouth to try and stop. "Really! I just didn't think you were the type of person to be bothered by something like that. It's funny."

"You're so mean!"

But the conversation was cut short when a knock came at the door and Quatre poked his head into the room. Duo tried very hard to regain his composure long enough for the blonde haired man to speak, but it was hard to stop thinking about what Cassarah had said. And this only upset the red head even more, but at least there was some kind of reaction other than some gloomy frown.

"Sorry to interrupt." Quatre said, not seeming so sure of himself. "Cassarah, there's a young man here who says he knows you."

"M-Me?" Cassarah asked, pointing to herself in confusion.

Her only response was a nod and she followed him out of the room and down the hall to the office she'd been to when she first arrived. To say she was nervous was an understatement. The only people who knew who she was and that she was here were Quatre, Trowa, and Duo. If someone else knew where she was, that would mean that one of the three of them had said something. Quatre had promised he wouldn't say anything and he really didn't seem the type to go back on his words.

If she really thought about it, the only person who had any reason to go off and make mention of her would be Duo because she'd betrayed his trust and then didn't explain anything to him. If he had been mad enough at her, he could have said something. But that didn't make any sense because he didn't really know much of anything about what was going on anyway.

"Miss Anita!" Two children rang in unison the moment she entered the room.

Cassarah froze up as they ran up to her and hugged her tightly. The two started in on a whole bunch of different things at the same time, but their words were a jumble in her head as she laid eyes on a familiar dark haired young man seated on a couch there. He looked up at her and she felt tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

"Blaine!" She cried, but she quickly looked down at the children clinging to her waist. "And Meghan and Nathan, too. Where are the other kids?"

"They have homes now, you know." Blaine replied, standing up to face her. "After the fire, you left us and I couldn't take care of everyone on my own. The people of that town took some of them in."

"Then why are they…?" She gestured toward Nathan and Meghan.

"They kept putting up a fuss every time someone tried to take them in." He replied, smiling a bit. "Always screaming about not wanting to be taken somewhere where you couldn't find them. We thought you were dead, you know."

She didn't respond immediately because she'd begun to thought about what had happened that night again. She was relieved they were alive and all, but something was making her feel very uneasy. She needed to talk to Blaine alone. She looked over at Quatre and was surprised to see Duo standing there, as well. She hadn't really been paying enough attention and didn't notice he'd entered the room.

"Nathan, Meghan." She said suddenly, never taking her eyes off of Blaine. "I want you to go with Quatre and Duo for a minute, alright? I need to talk with Blaine alone for a minute and I don't want you to hear."

"But why?" Nathan asked.

"It's adult talk." She replied. "You guys don't mind looking after these two, do you?"

The last comment was directed at Duo and Quatre, but they didn't object. It was very clear they didn't feel all that comfortable with the situation, either. Duo more so than Quatre because he'd actually met the guy before and just didn't like him. But, putting all that aside, they took Nathan and Meghan and left the room. And, with that, it was just Cassarah and Blaine in the room.

"Who the hell are you?" Cassarah snapped, advancing toward the young man.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Blaine asked, trying to give himself his personal space back. "You're acting like I'm some kind of bad guy. What did I do?"

"The fire!" She hissed. "I'm not stupid! I know you were the one who started it and I-!"

"You should have reacted faster." He said before turning and sitting back down on the couch. "But that place burning down was one of the best things that could have happened. It wasn't that hard to see that it was killing you to live like that. We all knew it and something had to be do-!"

Cassarah slapped him very hard in the face before he got a chance to finish. The sound of her hand making contact with his cheek was the only sound that came from the room for quite some time. Blaine was too shocked that she'd hit him to say anything and she couldn't actually believe she'd even done it, herself. But the proof was there in a red vaguely hand shaped mark on his face and the tingling feeling in her fingers from how hard she'd hit him.

"That's beside the point, you idiot!" She snapped. "We're all lucky we even made it out of there alive. You realize that, don't you? What the hell were you even thinking doing something so stupid? I know you've got a brain in that head of yours and you should have used it!"

But she didn't give him a chance to finish before storming out of the room. She barely even made it a few feet out of the room before running into Duo, Quatre, and the kids. Of course, they weren't exactly the people she wanted to bump into that soon after exploding like she just had, but there they were and suddenly she couldn't hold in her tears anymore. She was upset and pissed off and there was just so many things going on inside her head that she just needed to break. The first person with enough sense to try and say something was Quatre, but the children drowned him out.

"Miss Anita!" They cried, running up to her as she slipped to her knees,

"Don't cry!" Meghan said. "You always told us not to cry all the time. You said big kids don't cry."

"That's not what I said, silly." Cassarah said as she pulled them against her in a tight hug. "Sometimes it's okay. Just don't cry over stupid things, is all."


End file.
